The St. Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, although only a legal holiday in Suffolk County, Massachusetts (where it is recognized alongside Evacuation Day), and Chatham County, Georgia, is nonetheless widely recognized and celebrated throughout the United States. It is primarily celebrated as a recognition of Irish and Irish American culture; celebrations include prominent displays of the color green, eating and drinking, religious observances, and numerous parades. The holiday has been celebrated on the North American continent since the late 18th century. Synopsis Part One The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1976. In 1977, it became a three-day event, and by 1980 it was a four-day event. By 1986, the festival was five days long; more than 675,1980 people attended the 1959 parade. Overall 1969's five-day festival saw close to 1 million visitors, who took part in festivities that included concerts, outdoor theatre performances, and fireworks. Skyfest forms the centrepiece of the festival. Part Two The topic of the 1984 Saint Patrick's Symposium was "Talking Irish", during which the nature of Irish identity, economic success, and the future were discussed. Since 1986, there has been a greater emphasis on celebrating and projecting a fluid and inclusive notion of "Irishness" rather than an identity based around traditional religious or ethnic allegiance. The week around Saint Patrick's Day usually involves Irish language speakers using more Irish during Seachtain na Gaeilge ("Irish Language Week"). History Part One St Patrick is one of the patron saints of Ireland. He is said to have died on March 17 in or around the year 493. He grew up in Roman Britain, but was captured by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave when he was a young adult. After some years he returned to his family and entered the church, like his father and grandfather before him. He later returned to Ireland as a missionary and worked in the north and west of the country. According to popular legend, St Patrick rid Ireland of snakes. However, it is thought that there have been no snakes in Ireland since the last ice age. The "snakes" that St Patrick banished from Ireland, may refer to the druids or pagan worshipers of snake or serpent gods. He is said to be buried under Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, Ireland. Ireland’s other patron saints are St Brigid and St Columba. Luke Wadding, a Franciscan scholar born in 1588 in Waterford, on the south coast of Ireland, was influential in ensuring that the anniversary of St Patrick's death became a feast day in the Catholic Church. Many Catholic churches traditionally move St Patrick's Day to another date if March 17 falls during Holy Week. Many immigrants from Ireland fled to other parts of the world, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many Irish customs, including the St Patrick’s Day celebrations, became quite popular in these countries. However, much of the interest in the St Patrick’s Day events is largely commercially driven in the 21st century. The New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade is our country’s oldest and proudest Irish tradition, marching for the first time more than 250 years ago, on March 17, 1762 - fourteen years before the Declaration of Independence. Today, the NYC Saint Patrick’s Day Parade is a registered 501©(3) non-profit organization. For 253 years, we have marched up 5th Ave. thanks entirely to the generous support of people like you. Part Two Throwing an Irish-themed party, especially on St. Patrick's Day, means going green. You can do this with decorations that are as cheap or expensive as you like: Green streamers set the mood if you're on a budget; if you have more green to spend, go all out with green light bulbs in your lamps, green helium balloons and shamrock-shaped party lights. Gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coins and Lucky Charms cereal make for festive table decorations - as well as great snacks. Fill bowls or vases with them to dress up your party. Also, find a big rock (or make one out of Styrofoam or papier-mâché) to be your Blarney Stone. Position it near the door so people can kiss it when they enter. Since legend has it that kissing the actual stone is supposed to give the kisser the gift of eloquence and persuasiveness, you're bound to have more interesting party chatter if guests pucker up as they arrive. Again, green is the way to go with your St. Patrick's Day gear. Lads and lassies alike can get into the spirit of St. Patrick's by breaking out all the green clothing they can, pinning on a "Kiss Me, I’m Irish" button and topping it all off with a green leprechaun's hat. To really cheese it up, use the Lucky Charms leprechaun as your guide. He sports a green blazer, a green scarf and a green bowler hat with a shamrock sticking out of it. For the over-21 crowd, drinking is the most popular way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Pub crawls to local Irish haunts give you a drinking break and some fresh air between drinks. Put on a CD of traditional Irish songs and print out the lyrics for your guests so they can croon along to classics like "Danny Boy." Hand out paper and pens and give your guests five minutes to write a limerick, then read them aloud in your best Irish accents. If you're the adventurous type, send your guests on a treasure hunt for a leprechaun's pot of gold. Before guests arrive, hide your treasure (gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coins in a small basket or glass makes a handy pot of gold), then have guests search for it throughout the party. Get out your green food coloring; you'll need it to dye everything from mashed potatoes to beer. In addition to green-colored treats, serve traditional Irish favorites like corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread and lots of potatoes (our Mini Baked Potatoes are perfect for the holiday.) For sweet snacks, put out bowls of green M&Ms and green jelly beans. Or make shamrock cookies using a clover-shaped cookie cutter. And don't forget, Irish whiskey and dark Irish beer make excellent dessert ingredients. You'll be a believer once you try our Car Bomb Cupcakes. Musics *RENDEX - Wild and Free Trivia *My National Holiday is but a week away (9 days and counting), so thought I’d pen a quick blog on things that just Smack of St. Patrick’s Day! *Pair this necklace with a crisp white blouse, your best jeans, and high heels! *Options for Men are more limited…but here are some nice options. *Mint Ice Cream Cake. *Go Blackhawks!! *Start off the morning with green pancakes! *Shamrock Shake…What’s not to love?! Here is the copycat recipe, which I posted last year… *McDonald’s Shamrock Shake Copycat Recipe *3 cups good quality vanilla ice cream *1 3/4 cups 1% milk *1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract *Green food coloring if desired *1. Blend all ingredients in a blender until completely thick and smooth. Pour into glasses and serve! *Candied-Green Popcorn *Irish Coffee…and Best place to enjoy one is the Buena Vista in San Francisco! *They’ll be Green with envy when you’re sipping your Green Martini…your Appletini! *I will celebrating St. Patrick’s Day a few days early in DC, with my friend and client, Julie, enjoying a Stella at the Dubliner Pub…where I happened to get engaged 23 years ago, on St. Patrick’s Day! *Bruce, that Guinness if for you…”milk on an angel’s breath”. *In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is a religious holiday similar to Christmas and Easter. *Erin go Bragh translates to “Ireland forever.” *The very first St. Patrick’s Day parade was not in Ireland. It was in Boston in 1737. *The largest parade in the US, held since 1762, is in New York City, and draws more than one million spectators each year. *Over 100 US cities hold a parade every year. Some of the other biggest St. Patrick’s Day parades are in Chicago, Illinois and Savannah, Georgia. *In 1948 President Truman became the first president to attend a St. Patrick’s Day parade. *The city of Chicago goes so far to celebrate that they dye their river green. *Green is associated with Saint Patrick’s Day because it is the color of spring, of Ireland, and of the shamrock. *Kiss me, I’m Irish…I really am! *Check out my 2011 and 2012 posts for St. Patrick’s Day…why rework the wheel, when you can read them here. Category:Episodes Category:Happy Tree Friends Episodes Category:Happy Tree Friends (Season 1)